Resources

Archive for September, 2012

The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation Students in Free Enterprise 2012-13 calendar is available for purchase.

“Putting a Students in Free Enterprise calendar in your office or room is a great and convenient way to keep track of upcoming UT games, events and holidays,” said Tyler Detter, president of the UT Students in Free Enterprise chapter. “It is also an attractive addition to any wall as it features beautiful photos of the UT campus.”

Proceeds from the sale of the calendar support the organization’s educational and community outreach programs, which includes providing tax services, offering financial literacy classes to college students, and teaching success skills to high school students.

The price of the calendar is $8.

To purchase one, contact Detter at tyler.detter@rockets.utoledo.edu or Dr. Sonny Ariss, professor and chair of the Management Department, at sonny.ariss@utoledo.edu.

A passion for engineering that began in high school has led a University of Toledo senior to win this year’s Ohio Minority Engineering Student Scholarship.

Demar Watkins, a senior majoring in civil engineering, is learning on the job thanks to a co-op with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority.

Demar Watkins, a senior majoring in civil engineering, won the $2,500 award for the 2012-13 school year; he is one of just two recipients in Ohio to receive the scholarship.

“I am very blessed, very excited about the scholarship. It helps out a lot and takes some of the financial burden off my parents,” Watkins said.

The scholarship is presented by the Ohio Black Legislative Caucus Foundation, the National Society of Black Engineers, CT Consultants Inc. and New Visions Group LLC. It is given for financial assistance and potential internship possibilities within the civil engineering programs at accredited Ohio colleges or universities.

“It just seems natural. I can see myself doing this after I graduate,” Watkins said about his major in civil engineering.

The scholarship is open to any African-American student with a 3.0 GPA in high school and a 2.5 while in college who is working toward a civil engineering degree.

Watkins encouraged students to apply for scholarships: “I would honestly just say you have to apply. A lot of people are skeptical about it and second-guess [scholarship offers], but you never know. Don’t shoot yourself down before you apply.”

His job at the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority ties in directly with his major. He is completing a co-op as an engineering intern.

“With civil engineering, there is a lot of project management skills, which is a lot like my responsibility at the port authority.”

In this presidential election year, perhaps the only thing both sides agree on is the importance of jobs for Americans in this still challenging economy.

The issue of jobs for its graduates is not an election-driven concern at The University of Toledo College of Business and Innovation, which has achieved remarkable results, even in today’s economy. Year after year, the college is able to assist about 85 percent of its students to secure employment upon graduation.

One tool successfully used by the UT College of Business for its students is to host semiannual job fairs, the fall event to take place Friday, Sept. 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Student Union, where 95 companies — including Chrysler, Eaton Corp., Owens-Corning, Ernst & Young, Whirlpool, Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Kraft — will participate. Employers will be looking for students to participate in business internship programs as well as for seniors and graduates seeking full-time employment.

“Owens Corning recruits at The University of Toledo to find extraordinary talent,” said Otto Steele, roofing sales and operations planning process leader at Owens Corning. “Each year, The University of Toledo provides Owens Corning with future leaders for our company. Owens Corning is fortunate to have The University of Toledo in our community, and we are delighted to continue our relationship with UT.”

Marte Salmi, manager of IT at Eaton Corp., said Eaton consistently has recruited at The University of Toledo — one of nine campuses across the Midwest — for both internships and full-time positions since 2005. “We recruit at UT because of our involvement with the University; the locality, since the majority of assignments are in the Midwest; and because of the students themselves because there is a lot of great talent.”

“The fact that so many well-known companies are coming to the UT College of Business and Innovation to find the talent they need reflects very positively on the quality of both our programs and our students,” noted Dr. Terribeth Gordon-Moore, senior associate dean of the UT College of Business and Innovation. “It also demonstrates the extremely dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship enjoyed by our college and the business community.

“This semiannual job fair is part of what we do to prepare our students for their futures,” she explained, adding that the college’s Business Career Programs office works year round to assist students in acquiring internships and jobs upon graduation. “We strive to provide the necessary resources so our students can conduct their own tailored job searches.”

The College of Business and Innovation Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales will host its eighth annual Networking Night Tuesday, Oct. 23, where 38 companies — including 3M, Automatic Data Processing, SSOE Group, Hilti and the Ed Schmidt Auto Group — will meet the college’s professional sales students. Additional companies are willing to be on a waiting list for the opportunity to reach the UT sales students.

“Networking Night is designed to be more intimate than a typical career fair,” said Dr. Ellen Pullins, director of the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales. “This career recruiting event offers students the chance to learn how to navigate in a social and networking environment.”

Brad Carson, base market manager at Hilti, said, “I get most of my top sales talent at The University of Toledo. The students are such a good fit and field-ready, and the sales faculty and staff team are dedicated to seeing the students and Hilti succeed.”

“The Edward Schmidt School of Professional Sales is consistently recognized as one of the top sales programs in the United States,” Pullins said. “Our students are always in high demand and are being successfully placed. In fact, our career placement rate is approaching 100 percent, which is a particularly significant achievement given recent economic conditions. Demand has been strong throughout the entire economic downturn, and it is getting more intense. ”

A study by the Sales Education Foundation reported that firms deliberately are seeking out professional sales students because they “ramp up 50 percent faster” than non sales-educated peers, experience less turnover, and actually save money for employers.

In terms of the job outlook, the opportunities for sales professionals are increasing, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting up to a 43 percent growth in the field within the next 10 years.

Pullins explained that among the benefits provided within professional sales education are the use of role playing and simulations that offer hands-on training; internships that build competence and confidence; and a faculty with sales experience providing knowledgeable guidance.

“The Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales is very engaged with the business community, as is the entire UT College of Business and Innovation,” Pullins said. “We see that firms are ready to hire, and we are here to help them achieve their goals while preparing our students for great success in the field of professional sales.”

The key to limiting long-term brain damage caused by methamphetamine abuse could rest in the liver, according to research under way at The University of Toledo.

Dr. Bryan Yamamoto inserted a brain sample into a high-pressure liquid chromatograph for the analysis of neurotransmitters and neurochemicals.

“We can’t look at the brain in isolation,” said Dr. Bryan Yamamoto, professor and chair of the UT Department of Neurosciences. “We know the impact alcohol abuse has on the liver, and there is evidence of comorbidity of people abusing both alcohol and methamphetamine. But this will be the first time research is focused first on how meth abuse itself affects the liver and then in turn the brain.”

The long-term brain damage from methamphetamine abuse is a result of too much of the amino acid glutamate and free radicals in the brain. It is Yamamoto’s theory that the excess glutamate is caused from the excess ammonia that cannot be metabolized by the liver.

If proven with his research, which was recently funded with a $1.55 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, then early medical intervention could mitigate the long-term effects on the brain, which include destroying dopamine nerve cells that damage cognitive abilities and limit the ability to move. Chronic abuse also leads to psychotic behavior and even death.

“If a person enters the emergency room high on methamphetamine, the physicians could initiate a pharmacological treatment to help eliminate the excess ammonia in the body before it has the opportunity to wreak havoc on the brain and the rest of the body,” said Yamamoto, who has been studying the impact of drugs such as methamphetamine and ecstasy on the brain for more than 20 years.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Drug Abuse Warning Network, emergency department visits of people on central nervous system stimulations, such as meth, increased 196 percent from 2004 to 2010 with more than 31,500 visits in 2010.

Meth abuse and manufacturing are increasing not only in the United States, but also around the world. They have even made their way into popular culture with the AMC television show “Breaking Bad” about a high school chemistry teacher who begins “cooking” the drug after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, to earn money to support his family.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1.2 million Americans age 12 and older in 2009 had abused methamphetamine at least once in the past year.

Methamphetamine’s popularity is increasing because of how easily and inexpensively it can be “cooked,” despite efforts to control the drugs and chemicals used to manufacture it, Yamamoto said. The drug is most commonly smoked or injected and causes a euphoric feeling when the brain releases the chemical dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls pleasure.

According to the United Nationals Office on Drugs and Crime World Drug Report 2009, North America accounts for most of the methamphetamine operations, with 82 percent of the number of meth labs seized in 2007, but manufacturing is a growing concern around the world with the most notable increases in east and southeast Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

The University of Toledo has broken its record for football season ticket sales with a total of 11,917.

This year’s sales eclipsed the record of 11,792 set last year.

Season ticket sales were again bolstered by the sale of Ultimate Fan Plan packages; all of those season plans were sold this year.

“We want to thank Rocket fans for giving us the best season-ticket base in the Mid-American Conference,” Associate Athletic Director Dave Nottke. said. “We are fortunate to have such great fan support for our football program.”

Single-game tickets for Toledo’s remaining four home games are on sale at the UT Athletic Ticket Office in Savage Arena, by phone at 419-530-GOLD (4653) and online at utrockets.com.

The Rockets will host Central Michigan in the Homecoming Game Saturday, Oct. 6, as well as Cincinnati Saturday, Oct. 20; Ball State Tuesday, Nov. 6; and Akron Tuesday, Nov. 20.

Hit the lanes with the UT electricians to raise funds for Yell & Tell: Stop Child Abuse Now Inc.

The fifth annual bowling fundraiser and silent auction will be held Saturday, Sept. 29, at noon at Interstate Lanes, 819 Lime City Road in Rossford.

Items up for bid include a sunset trip aboard a 25-foot sailboat on Maumee Bay good through summer 2013, a romantic getaway at the Belamere Suites Hotel in Perrysburg, car batteries, massage sessions and pizza certificates.

“We would like to top last year, so even if you don’t bowl, come on out and support the cause,” said George Hayes, UT journeyman electrician.

The event raised $3,000 in 2011 for Yell & Tell: Stop Child Abuse Now Inc., according to Hayes.

Pamela Crabtree, a retired UT business services officer, founded the nonprofit organization in 2003 to educate the community on ways to prevent, detect and report child abuse.

“Child abuse is reported every 10 seconds,” Crabtree said. “Five to six children die each day as a result of child abuse or neglect in this country.

“With child maltreatment statistics increasing, the message to educate and protect our future, our most precious population — our children — must be proclaimed loudly and continuously,” she said. “Your actions, by supporting Yell & Tell, exemplify your commitment to our children and to our future.”

The cost to compete in the bowling tournament is $12 per person.

Register in advance on yelltell.org, or email yelltell@accesstoledo.com, or call Crabtree at 419.764.9302 or Hayes at 419.343.6988.

The University of Toledo Supply Chain Operations announces the move of Main Campus Shipping and Receiving from 1615 N. Westwood Ave. to 328 Westwood Ave.

Shipping and Receiving will continue to serve Main Campus and all related off-site locations from its new space starting Monday, Oct. 1.

“The new facility offers three receiving docks compared to the single opening at the old facility,” Kelly Puente, supply chain manager, said. “In addition to the docks, the parking and turn-around lot will be easier for the transport vehicles to navigate, leading to less congestion and faster delivery and pickup times.”

In order to facilitate the move to the new location, Main Campus Shipping and Receiving will close Friday, Sept. 28, at noon and re-open Monday, Oct. 1, at 8 a.m.

The phone number will remain 419.530.3400.

For questions concerning the transition, contact Bill Mawhorter, supervisor of shipping and receiving, at 419.383.5085.

The University of Toledo is helping spur international development in northwest Ohio by partnering with 5 Lakes Global and the Regional Growth Partnership to bring a group of international business development leaders to Toledo.

Through Wednesday, Sept. 26, more than 200 people will attend the 5 Lakes Global Economic Forum at the Park Inn hotel in downtown Toledo.

As part of the forum, The University of Toledo hold an education panel Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 4 p.m. in the Park Inn Orleans Room. School representatives will have the opportunity to share information on what makes their educational institutions a unique outlet for the employees and families of overseas executives and workers who elect to become members of our community.

“Northwest Ohio has so much to offer from an educational and research standpoint,” said Lawrence J. Burns, UT vice president for external affairs. “This forum represents a tremendous opportunity to showcase this strength to a group of potential overseas partners.”

Work-study eligible students are invited to attend a Community Work-Study Fair Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Student Recreation Center Maple Room.

Students will have the opportunity to meet area nonprofit representatives and interview for community work-study positions.

Community work-study allows students to build relationships, work in their fields of interest, gain community service experience, and add to their marketability after graduation.

To ensure that students are on the list for interviews, RSVPs are requested for the Community Work-Study Fair to 419.530.2244.

“College students can gain experiences that will help prepare them for leadership and service in their personal and professional lives,” said Angie Duran, community work-study coordinator and graduate assistant. “Students can earn work-study while working in the local community. There are a variety of areas to get involved in and many that may relate to a student’s major and interest. Areas include education, environment, health services, and programs working with the older adults, women and youth.”

To participate in community work-study, students must be eligible for work-study and be American citizens or permanent residents. Community work-study students work on average 20 hours at a local community agency and get paid work-study wages.

Students who are awarded work-study as part of their financial aid package may work on or off campus. The University of Toledo will allow students to work at select nonprofit organizations in the greater Toledo area. To obtain a work-study contract, students must go to Rocket Solution Central in Rocket Hall. Work-study contracts only are printed on Mondays and Wednesdays.

To apply for community work-study, students must complete a Community Work-Study Application, send a resumé and note which position they are interested in to the Community Work-Study Office. Participants also must attend the Community Work-Study Fair.

To view position descriptions, visit utoledo.edu/success/cws.
Community work-study positions only are open to eligible students.

For more information about community work-study, contact Angie Duran at angela.duran@rockets.utoledo.edu or 419.530.2213.

Community work-study is a joint effort between the Division of Student Success and the Center for International Studies and Programs.